


Merry Chrysler

by ChibiTabatha



Series: Broken and Built Bonds [10]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Boys Kissing, Christmas Dinner, M/M, inner turmoil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22774048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiTabatha/pseuds/ChibiTabatha
Summary: Link and Sue have been invited to the McLaughlin's for Christmas dinner. Link can only hope that things will go smoothly, but with what happened before? Who knows.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Series: Broken and Built Bonds [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509434
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to outofnowhere for beta-ing this! 
> 
> This is probably the shortest of the wrap-ups so I'm surprised it took me this long. The other part will go up on Wednesday :D
> 
> I just kinda went with my working title for this, but I love it, so I kept it.

Link tugged at the sleeves of the too large sweater draped over his frame. Rhett chatted amicably with Sue, while Link was left in the back seat to stew.  
  
Sure he and Sue were talking, and it was getting better. But Christmas dinner with the McLaughlins? What was Diane thinking?  
  
That was the other thing, Rhett’s folks had also destroyed how much of his mail to try and keep them apart? This just didn’t seem like something he wanted to participate in for any reason.  
  
Link pulled the collar of his borrowed sweater up over his nose and breathed deeply. Rhett said it would be okay, that he was serious about Link. The brunet let the familiar scent of his boyfriend ease his self-doubts.  
  
The car crunched over snow and gravel, slowing down as the car pulled up the lane. Christmas lights dancing over the unmarred snow in front of the McLaughin abode. The front door swung open, spilling yellow light out into the night and into the car.  
  
As the trio walked up to the door, Diane greeted the guests with a warm hug. “Sue! Link! So glad y’all could make it!”  
  
“Thanks fer inviting us all over Di,” Sue smiled warmly.  
  
“Come in, come in. Don’ need y’all freezing by the front door.”  
  
Link and Sue were ushered into the house by both Rhett and his mom. As Link took off his coat and hung it up, Rhett hung Sue’s coat beside his. The two women had moved down towards the kitchen leaving the boys alone. “It’s going to be fine Link.” Rhett squeezed his shoulder.  
  
Before Link could even utter a complaint or rebuttal, the blond’s lips were pressed to his. The kiss was gentle and quick, the smile behind it easily felt. "Come on, let's go get some snacks." the taller boy grabbed the brunet's hand, lacing their fingers together.  
  
Link let himself be pulled towards the kitchen, his own fond smile pulling at his cheeks. Of course Rhett was interested in food.  
  
When the two boys entered the kitchen, both ladies smiled at them. "Oh Link, hav'nt seen you in a good long while. Lemme git a good lookachu." Diane wiped her hands on a towel before rounding the kitchen island to get closer to the brunet.  
  
"It's nice to see you too Diane," he smiled as the smaller woman pawed at his arms, face, and hair.  
  
Diane gasped like he had said he'd murdered the pope and not just used her name. "I'll always be Momma Di to you, ya hear?"  
  
Link flushed at the reprimand but nodded his head shyly. "Good. Now I know you're not my son, but if my baby-"  
  
"Mom!" Rhett tried to interrupt her.  
  
"Not now Rhett. Now Link. If he gives you any trouble. Well. We'll bury him out back. You're just as much family, but you're cleaner than he is. So I want to keep you."  
  
Link couldn't help the laugh that escaped his chest. This was not the kind of shovel talk he was expecting. "Alright. Thanks Momma Di." he wrapped the smaller woman in another hug.  
  
"Nonsense. You and Sue are family. Not this good for nothing slob who probably still can't do laundry."  
  
"You're right, he can't."  
  
Rhett spluttered into his glass of water, glaring at Link over the rim even as the two ladies giggled to themselves.  
  
"Lord I missed you both. Go make yerselves comfortable. We'll let y'all know when dinner is ready. But no funny business, got it?" Momma Di squeezed Link's arm.  
  
"'Course not." Rhett tugged Link out of his mom's grasp, his face bright pink.  
  
Link couldn't help but laugh as he was dragged towards the basement.  
  
The boys found an old beat up Monopoly box in the old rec room. Their poison of choice while their game console was in the dorm. Eventually a set of steps thundered down the stairs, just as Link rolled his third pair in a row. "Awww, what the crap."  
  
"You know the drill bo. Off to jail you go." Rhett laughed as he moved Link's little thimble to the jail square.  
  
"Did we even still have all the pieces for that?" Cole leaned over Rhett's shoulder to eye the game board.  
  
"Nope, but we don't need all the little houses for a throw away game. Right Link?"  
  
Link rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'm the reason they're lost now anyways. Spent too long trying to keep them organized when I was the banker. Probably forgot to put them away properly."  
  
Cole's face was bewildered when his younger brother let out a laugh. "That sounds about right." the sentence was punctuated by the rattle of the dice.  
  
"Well I wanted to come say hi, since the missus got sucked into the kitchen. You see dad yet?"  
  
Rhett shook his head as he muttered about paying fees to Link even though he was in jail because of stupid random cards. "No. Yesterday he said he needed to go get something but I wasn't paying attention."  
  
Link frowned, what on earth could Jim need to get? He was usually prepared well before Christmas Eve.  
  
"Hey, it's nice to see you too Link." Cole shot him a smile.  
  
Link smiled back, did Cole know about him and Rhett?  
  
"I thought you guys might be necking down here, glad to see that's not the case."  
  
Rhett flailed his arm back to try and smack his older brother even as Cole retreated.  
  
"Mom said dinner is soon! May as well neck while you can kids!"  
  
"Shut it Cole!"  
  
The older brother's laugh faded as he pounded up the steps.  
  
"God, ignore him Link. He's just trying to get under my skin."  
  
Link smiled getting up from the chair he was perched in to hover over Rhett. "It's okay Rhett."  
  
The blond looked up at the brunet, even as the smaller man pressed his shoulders back and crawled into his lap. Rhett's face flushed, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Shut up and kiss me." Link pressed their lips together.  
  
Rhett's hands came up to hold the brunet in place, one on his waist, the other cupping his neck. Their mouths moved together slowly, like if they moved too fast, kissed too hard, they would be found by someone else.  
  
"Boys! Dinner!" Momma Di called them from the kitchen.  
  
They parted for air for a short moment, long enough for Rhett to turn his head and call back, "Be right there!"  
  
They shared another quick kiss before untangling from each other, packing up the old board game and heading towards the smell of good food.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final part for these boys. I'm glad that I could bring this to a close, and I hope you like it as much as I do.

If there was one thing Link could say he missed about Buies Creek, it was home cooked meals. He loved his momma's cooking, don't get him wrong, but with how often she had been busy with work, he more often than not had dinner with the McLaughlin's. And Momma Di always whipped up the best meals when he was over. He even thought it had been special meals for guests, but no, it was always just a regular meal with the McLaughlin's.  
  
So when that delicious, heady smell hit him, his mouth immediately started to salivate. The boys walked towards the smell of warm, comforting foods.  
  
Yet as they passed by the opening to the living room, Link spotted a shovel leaning against the wall next to the Christmas tree. It almost looked innocuous amongst the soft colored lights reflecting off shiny baubles. But it was brand new, with a bright red ribbon tied around the shaft of the new tool.  
  
The shovel they would likely bury him with if he ever hurt Rhett.  
  
"There you boys are, you weren't doin' anythin' suspect were ya?" Momma Di had her hands on her hips as she spotted the youngest members of the joined family in the door to the kitchen.  
  
"They were playing Monopoly down there when I was down there. It hardly feels like they're teenage boys!" Cole laughed as Rhett glared daggers at him.  
  
"It's our first year in university Cole, we have four whole years to figure out intimacy. Don't be sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." Link looked at the older brother pointedly. No one in the room had to know that they shared a bed, shared sleepy kisses, exchanged hushed goodnights wrapped up in their own world.  
  
Sue smiled softly at the young couple, "I'm glad you two don't feel pressured. I think we'd all want you both to be happy being yourselves."  
  
At that moment Jim walked up behind the two young men, placing a hand on either boy's shoulder. "Welcome home you two."  
  
Diane clapped her hands, "Alright everyone, help yers'lves!"

* * *

Link was sat between Rhett and Sue, the soft chatter over the table filled the young man with a different kind of warmth than the food sitting in his belly. This was the warmth of a Christmas dinner with family. The laughter at bad jokes, the fretting over concerning statements, the bewildered glances with cheeks rounded out with a forkful of food.  
  
Eventually Jim had turned his attention to him and his mother, and at first where he had been nervous, he felt a kind of calm from the weight of the warmth around them. "So Sue, I got you a Christmas gift. Left it out by the tree."  
  
Link blinked a couple of times. "You mean the shovel?"  
  
Jim laughed heartily. "Yes sir. She's going to need it if our boy ever breaks your heart."  
  
Link could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he wasn't sad. He was laughing along with Jim, even as tears streaked across his cheeks.  
  
Rhett's warm hand gently squeezed his knee, while Sue's hand gently rested against his wrist. "You alright hon?" Momma Di's voice was the only sound. The soft clamour of voices and utensils had stopped at the first signs of his waterworks.  
  
"Never better Momma Di." He brushed at his damp cheeks before gently squeezing his mom's hand in his. "I'm just so incredibly happy and I guess there was so much it had to leak out my eyes too."  
  
Rhett pulled the tear damp hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, a silent question shared between them before Link smiled to ease his boyfriend's concern.  
  
"I want to thank y'all for inviting me and Sue. For welcoming us with open arms. If you had told me this time last year that I would find myself here, sitting at this table again? Well, I'd tell you that you are out of your mind. But I'm happy that we're here now. I know it wasn't easy for any of us. But I think Rhett said it best: 'You can't give more than yourself'." Link tangled his finger's with said boy. "I was freaking out about this because all it took was one mistake for all of my life to get ripped out from under my feet. And I know that we're all not happy with what happened, but I was still so scared. I guess I was scared that what I had to give you guys wouldn't be enough. But it is enough, you guys have shown that to me by saying you'll bury your own son instead of me. I never thought I wouldn't get the shovel talk." Link burst into laughter.  
  
Cole joined him in his laughter, as did Rhett and Sue.  
  
When the laughter died down, Link realized he had been rambling about his feelings and a hot flash of embarrassment tore across his cheeks.  
  
Jim was the first to clear his throat. "Link, you're just as much our son as Rhett or Cole. You may not be related by blood, but you were here enough to build the bond of a lifetime. And I'm sorry that we turned our backs on that."  
  
Link glanced between Jim and Diane, the woman resting her hand against her husband's arm in solidarity for what he was saying.  
  
"I wasn't around, but when I heard what had happened I told Mom and Dad how disappointed I was in them. Turning their back on their third son like that. I'm sorry the last year happened the way it had. But you and Sue? You're family. Even if you realise you're much too good for my baby brother."  
  
Rhett scowled at Cole hissing the word 'Traitor' at him. Link smiled at the siblings, at Cole's wife, before turning to his mom.  
  
The woman who had pulled the rug out from underneath his feet. "Can Rhett and I come down for spring break you think?" He squeezed her hand softly.  
  
She'd hurt him yes, but maybe with a little bit of time and effort on his part... Well, maybe they could go back to being a proper family. Especially if they were already an extension of the McLaughlin's in a weird way. “Of course Link.”  
  
The warmth from the meal, from the welcoming family around him, he felt like now he would be able to begin the long healing process. He would rely more on the strength of those around him when he needed them, and hopefully they would also lean on him when they needed. The past year had been awful, but Link was going to put in the effort to help mend and build back up his broken family bond.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it for these guys. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Come say hi on [tumblr](https://chibitabathasloves.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
